Since my Fables Steampunk game is about to end and my Hong Kong Action is pretty far in...

This thread is a recruitment thread for two separate mini-campaign that will serve as a sort of play test to get me and the players better acquainted with 3e/DCA rules. I am looking for 12 players (preferably with DCA) who want to try out the rules for 3e. Slight preference will go to people who have shown themselves to be reliable on the boards, but new players are welcome! Please be respectful of the fact that the number of games on these boards is limited: if you feel entirely comfortable with DCA/3e rules already, you may want to sit this one out unless the game idea is too amazing to pass up, you're my biggest fan, all your friends are applying, etc...

Character Guidelines:

PL 12 (210 pp). Please avoid powers that would needlessly complicate the game (precog, time travel, etc.). It's straight-forward and brutal. Build your characters appropriately. While Apollo and Midnighter are appropriate role models in their ruthlessness, please ensure that your characters fall on the "hero" or "vigilante" side of the spectrum. Character backgrounds do not need to be extensive. Concept is more important than background (and we should try to honor some basic niche protection). Please hit your basic PL caps.

1. Since this is a four scene game, characters will not gain experience between scenes. The characters have 30 pp more than a standard PL 12 would have, so I hope this isn't a problem.

2. I would prefer if applicants can post once or twice every day. Since it is a short game, I expect most people to want to post fairly quickly and have a high energy game. If that's not something you can do, then please enjoy the game as an observer rather than as a player.

3. I will give out HP at the rate that I think average games here do (I usually give slightly more than that). Since it is a dark-themed game, I will award HP for role-playing and genre appropriateness even if opportunities for Golden Age heroism are somewhat limited. Please record the number of HP you have in the title of any IC posts you make (if you are chosen to play) so that it is easier to keep track. I usually keep track on my own but I don't want players to have to ask me for their totals if we are trying to keep everything moving.

4. Don't stress much over an in-depth background. I am not looking for novels since this will be a fairly straight-forward game and four scenes will likely be insufficient time for serious character development.

If you don't have DCA and are interested: Build a 2e character and I'll do the conversion to the best of my ability. If the points come up short in places, I'll make notes on it. Please choose at least 2 complications, though. Hopefully most people will have the book since it will save me a lot of work.

Set in my Authority-style setting, the heroes are a group of PL 12 (210 pp) on a team founded by the paragon hero Apotheosis. The great hero has retreated into meditations in his satellite fortress orbiting Earth, leaving the strongest of his former teams accountable to no one other than themselves. Having a blank check to deal with threats in as brutal a fashion as the please, the team - known as "the Protectorate" - is undoubtedly the most powerful on the planet. However, they soon find themselves threatened by a renewed invasion by the alien Voevons and witness to the disappearance of less prominent heroes - perhaps at the hands of Apotheosis's arch-nemesis, the villain Mastermind. Faced with this challenge, the team may finally be in over its head.

Cast of Characters:

Apotheose - Apotheose is a paragon of great ability. He has led some of the foremost teams in the world, including the Protectorate, and is widely consider to be "the Champion and Defender of Mankind." Apotheose is known to fly, be virtually impossible to harm, possess super strength, be able to shoot blasts of energy from his eyes, and has super keen senses. He currently resides on a satellite base, where he monitors Earth for dangers and presumably plans his efforts to improve the lot of mankind. Note: Despite the direction that heroes on Earth have taken, Apotheose is a standard Silver Age paragon hero, not a dark and gritty Iron Age character.

Mastermind - The arch-nemesis of Apotheose, Mastermind is a criminal genius and powerful sorcerer. At the height of his power, his reach extended to the criminal underworlds of every corner of the globe. After a few incarcerations following his multiple arrests by Apotheose, Mastermind's criminal empire is crumbling. His current whereabouts are unknown. His current plans, however, are clear: as always, he wishes to humble and destroy Apotheose.

The Voevon Invastion - Forty years ago, Earth experienced a rapid invasion by an alien race known as the Voevons. A warlike people, the Voevons sought a complete conquest of the planet and hoped to plunder it for resources. Apotheose disabled their command ship, defeated the alien general, and rallied the heroes of Earth in a repulsion of the Voevon raiding force already on the ground. An entire generation of heroes emerged from that conflict, perhaps including some members of the Protectorate.

Option 2: The Iron Heel of Chenzo-Khaf

Overview:

In May of 1979, leaked classified government documents revealed that American use of superpowered individuals against Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos accounted for nearly 300,000 military casualties and over 800,000 civilian casualties. Moreover, they revealed that superheroes had participated in covert activities following American victory that resulted in the death or disappearance of another 200,000 individuals either somehow linked to Communist forces or suspected of harboring sympathies to them. In response, the public elected into office a president in the 1980 election who ran on an unwaveringly anti-"super" platform. Not long thereafter, his administration secretly recruited the patriotic superheroine Columbia (a Wonder Woman analogue) to begin arresting those involved in what were often systematic war crimes against illiterate peasants.

As Columbia began rounding up some of the heroes - a task easy for her due to her raw power and the fact that none of her colleagues were aware of her involvement in the arrests - a resistance movement began to form against superhero containment in the mysterious super-prison called Facility 19. Faced with violent organized resistance, the government used even more widely sweeping force against superpowered individuals. Indeed, many died at the hands of soldiers and government agents in raids. The public, meanwhile, only got bits and pieces of the story, so they interpreted the resistance movement as little more than criminal acts against the public good. Before the tragedy had played out, Columbia was asked to arrest even her longtime sidekick. While she complied, her faith was shattered and she spent the rest of her days - nearly three decades - looking for answers at the bottom of many bottles. While her cause of death was officially "natural causes," rumors abound that the hero-turned-recluse finally ended her own life.

Due to the unexplained fact that almost all superhumans were from the United States, the loss of the American heroes meant that the world's superheroes were nearly extinct. Threats to the world, however, were not. Mere weeks after the US lost their greatest hero, an alien being exiled from its home planet ended its 107 year trek across empty space when it discovered a planet inhabited by puny creatures called humans. The being called Chenzo-Khaf declared himself to be a god and the ruler of Earth. Initially laughed at, he proceeded to level the capitals of no less than a dozen world powers in a matter of days. Within a month, no formal challenges to his rule were any longer put forth.

Inside Facility 19, however, none of this was known. The heroes wandered through shapeless and timeless space for three decades while the convicts tried (in many cases feebly) to maintain their sanity. A former supervillain - a designation without much meaning in Facility 19 - however, claims that he has discovered a flaw in the prison that Columbia apparently intentionally caused when she reluctantly interned her former sidekick in the super-prison. He claims that after years of refinement, he finally has a plan for forcing open their cage. All he needs is a group of brave and powerful allies to help him penetrate the last wall of defense standing between them and freedom. Little do the volunteers know, their enemies are now either decrepit old men or corpses broken under the boot of Chenzo-Khaf...

Note: One (and only one) evil character will be permitted so serve as the supervillain who plots the breakout from Facility 19. I don't need a villainous player character, but I would allow one. Likewise, someone would be allowed to play as the former sidekick of Columbia, in which case the other players might not like you much.

Cast of Characters:

Columbia - A female paragon hero (Wonder Woman analogue) who was the most powerful hero in the world during the second half of the Twentieth Century. Dressed in a patriotic costume, she also wielded the mighty Sword of Liberty. Columbia was conscripted by the American government to crack down on superheroes who were involved in war crimes in Vietnam - most of which were in the aftermath. Herself guilty of a few of the massacres in question and having been a participant in more than one interrogation that may have spilled over into torture, she was not very eager to follow orders, but in the end her patriotism won out. Columbia secretly moved against her former allies, imprisoning dozens of heroes. As fear, confusion, and uncertainty spread in the superhero community, some of Columbia's longtime allies took up arms against various government agencies, propelling the conflict into even deadlier confrontations. In the end, the US government - backed by Columbia - interned the last of the "vigilantes" in the presumably inescapable Facility 19. Unbeknownst to anyone but her, Columbia damaged the machinery holding in the heroes and retreated into a bottle - lacking to the courage to do anything more. Decades of alcoholism culminated in her death, possibly from suicide.

Chenzo-Khaf - A mysterious alien being of world shattering power. He landed on Earth after being exiled from his own people over a hundred years earlier for unknown crimes. Chenzo-Khaf immediately declared himself ruler and god over the race of weaklings he encountered on the planet, leveling city after city as the disobedient savages tried to refuse acknowledging their new master. At present, Chenzo-Khaf is the head of every remaining government, religion, and military.

The Vietnam War - A conflict arising out of American efforts to "contain" Communism in SE Asia and maintain French colonial power in Indochina (as a means of rebuilding their economy after WWII), the Vietnam War ended in American victory after the superpower recruited dozens of superheroes to participate in the war. Guerrilla warfare, bombing, and black-ops activity spilled over the borders from Vietnam into Laos and Cambodia as well, leaving millions of people affected by the events. Despite the victory, the American public was aghast at learning the extent to which American superheroes - those who were supposed to reflect their best selves - did to win the war. As a result, a presidency hostile to superpowered individuals got elected into office in 1980.

Veni, Vidi, Vici - The arrival of Chenzo-Khaf soon after the death of Columbia marked the downfall of all human governments and the near subjugation of the entire human race to one god-man.

Note: Just to clarify, I will be running the game, so this is not an interest check in the sense of "are enough people interested for this to work?" but rather one where I am asking "has everyone already tried out DCA and if so, should I just start drafting players that have been reliable for my other games?"

DesertGhost wrote:Can I ask why experienced 3e players aren't allowed? I understand if you give priority to inexperienced players so that they can learn, but us experienced can't apply at all?

Hmmm, I don't think I said that experienced players can't apply. Anyone can apply. I have no way of knowing how much experience people have with the system. I am just asking that applicants respect the fact that some players might be intimidated about the switch and prefer having a group of people who are on the same learning level. Likewise, I will inevitably make mistakes as I become more acquainted with the system. People with more experience with the system might get frustrated with me or fellow players who are learning the DCA rules making mistakes, people asking "stupid" questions, and so on.

So my phrasing of "probably shouldn't apply" is just that: a polite request that those with plenty of experience consider whether or not they want to give others a chance as well. If, upon reflection, a person that has been in a couple of DCA games or test sessions decides that this game is just one that they can't miss (either because they have a friend in it, they're my biggest fan, they want to play a Midnighter or Apollo clone, they are still uncomfortable with the rules, etc.) then they can feel free to apply. They will just have to expect a few mistakes from the players/GM who are less familiar with the rules.

I still don't know what rough percentage of people have tried 3e, are familiar with it, and so on. It could turn out that only one or two players new to 3e rules want to play. In that case, I'd be perfectly fine with a number of more experienced DCA players. Since the explicit goal is to acquaint players with the rules who haven't had that chance yet, I will give some preference to players who indicate that they are still new (or completely unfamiliar with the 3e rules). Regardless, this thread is an interest check for now precisely so that I can figure out exactly how I want to conduct the actual recruitment...

Also, by "we should try to honor some basic niche protection," I am basically only asking for everyone to use common sense. If half of the applicants have submitted builds for bricks, then people might want not want to build the thread's 52nd brick. Instead, they may want to try something that will explore how other game mechanics work.

Ok, I guess I misinterpreted your meaning. I'm fine with mistakes, and I'm willing to help out where I can to get everyone comfortable with the system.

Here's what I'd submit:

Diehard: A former paratrooper, Diehard was injured in battle and forced to rely on artificial implants to survive. As such, he was designated as the prime candidate for the Diehard program, which bonded advanced, superhuman cybernetic systems to his body and acted as a power source for his new combat armor. Now that he has doubts about the validity of his humanity, he also has doubts as to his true purpose in ‘life.’Powers: Cybernetics and powered armor that only functions for him.

Diehard: A former paratrooper, Diehard was injured in battle and forced to rely on artificial implants to survive. As such, he was designated as the prime candidate for the Diehard program, which bonded advanced, superhuman cybernetic systems to his body and acted as a power source for his new combat armor. Now that he has doubts about the validity of his humanity, he also has doubts as to his true purpose in ‘life.’Powers: Cybernetics and powered armor that only functions for him.

Hopefully that's acceptable.

That sounds appropriate as a basic concept. Don't worry about too in-depth of a background when building him. A couple of paragraphs is fine. Remember that there's no rush, though. I'm just gaging interest as this point so that I know what to expect. Anyone can freely submit builds and concept pitches whenever they are ready. I'll check them out as soon as I have the free time to do so (i.e. I won't wait until recruitment has formally opened).

Hm. With Aedan's disappearance, perhaps I'll submit Serpentine-- transformed into a technomagical cyborg by an invading alien race, he broke free of their control, using his own undeveloped potential magic, and now uses the powers they gave him to defend the earth.

Unka Josh wrote:Hm. With Aedan's disappearance, perhaps I'll submit Serpentine-- transformed into a technomagical cyborg by an invading alien race, he broke free of their control, using his own undeveloped potential magic, and now uses the powers they gave him to defend the earth.

I'm in a 3e game at the moment so I understand if I don't make the cut because of that but honestly I've been avoiding the mechanics that people haven't explained to me.And while the people in the game have been really understanding I think a game where I could experiment without feeling like I'm slowing the game down would be great.

BlindPugh wrote:I'm in a 3e game at the moment so I understand if I don't make the cut because of that but honestly I've been avoiding the mechanics that people haven't explained to me.

I don't think being in one 3e/DCA game is anything to worry about. I'm more trying to discourage the hypothetical situation where someone is in three or more games and has been playing weekly tabletop with the system since its release. If someone is nearly as comfortable with 3e already as they were with 2e, then they probably don't need a game like this. Someone in your shoes shouldn't feel discouraged.

BlindPugh wrote:And while the people in the game have been really understanding I think a game where I could experiment without feeling like I'm slowing the game down would be great.